Hammer, Thorvald F.

Thorvald Frederick Hammer (1893-1987) was a leading industrialist and engineer in the state of Connecticut for over fifty years. He became president of the Malleable Iron Fittings Company (MIF) in 1935 upon the death of the former president, his father, Alfred E. Hammer . His family had been involved in the management of MIF from its inception in 1864. He had started working with the company at the age of fourteen during his summer vacations and became a permanent employee after graduating from Yale University in 1918 and serving in the U.S. Navy during the First World War. He remained in active service with the company until 1969.

As president of the company, he embarked on a program of modernization, which put the production of malleable iron castings on an assembly line basis. At the same time, he installed dust elimination systems and shower bath facilities to protect the health and safety of employees and to improve the environment of the work place.

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